Read this moving story where 102 Beagles were freed from an Animal testing lab in Bangalore!

In 2013, Maneka Gandhi secured the release of 102 beagles from a testing laboratory in Bangalore. They were ranging in age from 1 to 11 years. They had lived their entire lives in small metal cages in a sterile laboratory with not a single positive interaction with the outside world. The serial numbers tattooed inside their ears, their only identity. Several of them had their vocal chords cut off to prevent them from making a noise while they were subjected to painful tests.

The rescued beagles at Bangalore

CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) was entrusted with the responsibility of re-homing these traumatised souls. 2 years ago, on this very day, the first batch of beagles stumbled out into sunshine for the first time in their lives. Some stuck to the back of their transport carriers, refusing to come out. Some others walked in circles, unsure of what to do with so much space suddenly available to them. They all got adopted, every single one of them. Everything about a home terrified them – stairs, cooker whistle, human beings, a cough or a sneeze. But they put one courageous paw in front of the other and learnt to live in a free world.

A lovely picture of the adopted beagles with their owners!

Some of them got returned as the humans didn’t have the patience required to help them; they got adopted into more deserving homes. Some passed away from illnesses that were a direct result of the years of toxic chemicals injected into their veins; they are deeply loved and missed to this day. The rest of them not just survived but thrived. They run through grass, cuddle up on the couch, play with reckless abandon, flop over for belly rubs and show their middle fingers every day to the researchers who say that animals used in research can never make family pets.

Happy 2nd anniversary of freedom to all the beagle warriors and their super lucky families!